Presentation

Bridget Riley is a British artist born in England in London in 1931. She is one of the initiators of the artistic movement Op Art, or optical art. Bridget Riley studied art at Cheltenham Ladies' College, before joining Goldsmiths College and then the Royal College of Art, which she was forced to leave in 1955 to take care of her ailing father. In the grip of a depression for a while, she then began a series of odd jobs, going from art teacher to various positions in different advertising agencies. At the same time, she persists on the path of contemporary art. 

As soon as she left university, Bridget Riley was interested in pointillism and surrealism, already working with geometric and abstract shapes. She admired at the time the artists Georges Seurat and Victor Varasely, and was inspired by the latter to create a series of black and white works, the premises of her future success. From then on, she inscribes her work in the movement of optical illusion, taking malicious pleasure in trapping the viewer's eye. 

In 1962, she organized her first individual exhibition at Gallery One. Success is there, and Bridget Riley manages to make herself known on the European artistic scene. There followed a tour of many galleries and museums around the world, including a notable visit to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. She is then accompanied by the artists Josef Albers, Victor Vasarely, Yaacov Agam and Richard Anuszkiewicz who initiate during this exhibition the optical art movement, or Op Art, consisting in creating optical illusions through the simple means of painting, plastic art and geometry. The movement is illusory, but enough to trap the viewer. In the 1970s, Bridget Riley embarked on a series of journeys which led her to discover hieroglyphics in Egypt. 

Now adept at shimmering colors, she changes her style, abandoning light and dark tones for bright and joyful tones, accentuating the feeling of intoxication of the spectators at the sight of her works. In 1968, Bridget Riley won the Grand Prix at the Venice Biennale. Become Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1972 and Member of the Order of Companions of Honor in 1998, she entered the Berlin Academy of the Arts in 2004.


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Who is the artist?

Bridget Riley is a British artist born in England in London in 1931. She is one of the initiators of the artistic movement Op Art, or optical art. Bridget Riley studied art at Cheltenham Ladies' College, before joining Goldsmiths College and then the Royal College of Art, which she was forced to leave in 1955 to take care of her ailing father. In the grip of a depression for a while, she then began a series of odd jobs, going from art teacher to various positions in different advertising agencies. At the same time, she persists on the path of contemporary art. 

As soon as she left university, Bridget Riley was interested in pointillism and surrealism, already working with geometric and abstract shapes. She admired at the time the artists Georges Seurat and Victor Varasely, and was inspired by the latter to create a series of black and white works, the premises of her future success. From then on, she inscribes her work in the movement of optical illusion, taking malicious pleasure in trapping the viewer's eye. 

In 1962, she organized her first individual exhibition at Gallery One. Success is there, and Bridget Riley manages to make herself known on the European artistic scene. There followed a tour of many galleries and museums around the world, including a notable visit to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. She is then accompanied by the artists Josef Albers, Victor Vasarely, Yaacov Agam and Richard Anuszkiewicz who initiate during this exhibition the optical art movement, or Op Art, consisting in creating optical illusions through the simple means of painting, plastic art and geometry. The movement is illusory, but enough to trap the viewer. In the 1970s, Bridget Riley embarked on a series of journeys which led her to discover hieroglyphics in Egypt. 

Now adept at shimmering colors, she changes her style, abandoning light and dark tones for bright and joyful tones, accentuating the feeling of intoxication of the spectators at the sight of her works. In 1968, Bridget Riley won the Grand Prix at the Venice Biennale. Become Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1972 and Member of the Order of Companions of Honor in 1998, she entered the Berlin Academy of the Arts in 2004.

What is Bridget Riley’s artistic movement?

The artistic movements of the artists are: Op' Art

When was Bridget Riley born?

The year of birth of the artist is: 1931